Page 44 of Snow, Ice, and Spice
I clear my throat and take a second to relax my face before turning back to the dishwasher and rearranging the plates in the rack.
“You sure?” she asks. “You’re acting kind of weird.”
“I’m fine.” I glare at the row of dishes and shove them around again.
Her phone dings with a text.
“Oh wow,” she murmurs.
I stand up. “What is it?”
She stares at her phone. “Xander said he can get me club lounge seats for tomorrow’s game.” She looks up at me. “I know nothing about sports and I’ve never been to the arena, but I’m guessing they’re nicer than regular seats?”
I swallow back the jealousy that bubbles up my chest. “Club lounge seats, huh?” I have to spend a solid five seconds relaxing my jaw before I’m able to get out those four words.
I’ve seen Xander pull this move before. He’ll surprise whatever woman he’s interested in with club lounge seats to woo her. He’ll have a bottle of champagne on ice waiting for her, and then after the game he’ll take her out for a drink or dinner. And then it’s off to his place to finish out the night…
Bile burns in my gut at the thought of him doing all of that with Maya. Yeah, no fucking way is that happening.
I slam the dishwasher door shut. “I’ll come with you.”
She laughs at first, then wrinkles her brow when I don’t say anything. “Wait, you’re serious?”
“You said yourself never been to a game and you’ve never been to the arena. Wouldn’t want you to get lost. That place is huge. Parking can be a nightmare, too.”
She blinks at me, looking utterly confused. “Um, okay…”
A weird relief washes over me. This time when I smile, my face muscles are more relaxed. I walk up to her and pat her on the shoulder. “We’ll have a great time.”
I stroll out of the kitchen and down the hall to my bedroom, feeling lighter. I’m essentially cock-blocking Xander and Maya. Is it petty and immature? Yup. Do I care? Nope.
* * *
Maya glances around the club lounge. “This is way nicer than I expected.”
I chuckle as I settle into the plush leather seat next to her.
“What did you expect? Concrete benches?” I tease.
She smiles at me. “I guess. I just didn’t know watching sports could be so luxurious.”
Behind us is a full-service bar and kitchen with bartenders, cooks, and wait staff to cater to the club lounge ticket holders. This section definitely sticks out among the standard seats that make up the majority of the arena. That’s why the club lounge ticket holders pay so much to sit here. They want the perks of a killer view, cushy seating, and top-tier food and drinks while they watch the game.
“Not all of us sports fans are heathens,” I joke. She playfully shoves my shoulder.
We watch as the ref drops the puck at center ice, kicking off the first period of the game. Bashers players scramble for control of the puck against the Nashville Wolves.
I breathe in the crisp, cool air of the arena. The crowd roars when the Bashers attempt an early shot at the visiting team’s goal, but it’s a miss. A collective, “ugh” echoes through the stands.
As I take a few seconds to soak it in, there’s a faint spark of nerves in my gut. I take a second to breathe through it. I wait for a second, stronger wave of nerves and tension to resurface, but it never comes.
On the drive here, my stomach was in knots. I thought the moment I stepped into this arena my nerves would go haywire. I was about to walk back into the place I’ve played at so many times and watch the team I was kicked off of. But that panicked, haywire feeling never came. Just a slow simmer of nerves. And at first, I wasn’t sure why. But now I know.
It’s because as much as I wish I were on the ice with my team, it’s not the only important thing in my life anymore. I’ve got hockey camp now. And yeah, never in a million years did I ever think that I’d be coaching a group of elementary schoolers, but it’s fulfilling in a way that hockey never was. Maya and I have a group of little kids who look at us like we hang the moon just because we play with them every weekend. Something about that is so wholesome and heartening. And as much as I love hockey and wish I could still be playing, I’ve discovered that there are other things I’m good at.
A server stops by and asks to take our drink order. Maya orders a gin and tonic.
“Would you like regular tonic water, cucumber, or grapefruit?”
